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This love poem pays homage to the biblical Song of Songs.


A Hart Leaping

Leaving Eros’s arms was torture.

Leaving yours, the whole world

and all the manna of Eden.

I sing of you as a hart in the hills,

as a poet upon our bed of spices.

You give me wine to drink

and figs to eat, from the tree

we planted together, in summer.

When I see you standing tall,

ramrod-straight as the Tower of David,

I know I am protected, and loved.

I am a beloved daughter of Eve.

Together we planted our garden.

Its sprouts can now be seen.

But you went leaping into the hills tomorrow.

You have not seen the fullness of our tree.

I sing songs for you, to draw you back.

I eat sparingly, to spare the food for you.

I drink the wine we brewed together,

hoping it will recall you to me.

But your going was fated.

I was always meant to seek you

on the streets of the City,

in the buds of our garden,

in the hills you went leaping to.

You were always meant to leave me.

You are a hart in the hills.

Can I not call you back with milk and honey,

and all the manna of Eden?

To think you will be forever gone to me

sets my heart to aching,

and makes me blend my tears

with the wine we once drank together.